The Ex Factor
by Jackie W
Summary: When ex-wives cause Sam heartache, it takes an
1. ExWives

Title: "The Ex Factor"  
  
Author: Jackie W.  
  
Email:  
  
Season: Season 8 (Before Affinity)  
  
Spoilers: Chimera, small ones up through Avatar. One possible spoiler for Threads.  
  
Summary: Ex-wives cause Sam some heartache, and it takes an ex-General to put her life back on track.  
  
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters and places are the property of MGM, World Gekko Corp and Double Secret Productions. This piece of fan fiction was created for entertainment, not monetary purposes, and no infringement on copyrights or trademarks was intended. Previously unrecognized characters and places, and this story, are copyrighted to the author. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead is coincidental and not intended by the author.  
  
Author's Notes:  
  
This piece totally stems from Muses making a list of creative ways to get rid of Pete (This is number 17 on the list) It had no ending for several months, then a line in the spoilers for Threads made a light bulb go off.

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When Sam Carter had first found out about Jack O'Neill's wife and son she had figured he would get back together with Sara someday. After all she had seen the look of fear in his eyes when he had realized that the crystal entity had been looking through his things, and the relief he had expressed when they had found Sara safe at the hospital. Sam had even pretended to be Sara that cold and desperate time in Antarctica when her CO had called out for her. She knew he still loved the woman.  
  
And if she was perfectly honest with herself, that suspicion that he still had strong feelings for his wife had kept her out of Jack O'Neill's arms over the years as surely as her commitment to duty and the threat of court-marshal had. It was tough to risk it all when you weren't 100 sure whether you were his first choice or not. She had even gotten up the nerve to ask if Jack ever spoke to Sara that day at his house when the ancient knowledge was slowly killing him. She'd taken his refusal to talk about it as confirmation that he wasn't over his ex-wife.  
  
So when she and Pete saw Jack and the former Mrs. O'Neill at a restaurant one Saturday night, she wasn't shocked. She was a bit surprised and desperately trying to deny to herself that she was hurt by the scene, but not shocked. The General hadn't spotted her so she never mentioned it to him. And she rationalized to herself that it was a good thing that she'd seen them. Now maybe she could finally fully let go of those feelings for Jack O'Neill that still occasionally reared their ugly head and move on once and for all.  
  
Coincidentally, two weeks later when Sam was visiting Pete in Denver they bumped into his ex-wife and her new boyfriend in a restaurant. She was relieved to find that physically at least Lisa Shanahan was the polar opposite of her, short and with long dark hair. At least she knew that she didn't remind Pete of his ex. She hadn't failed to notice her similarity to Sara O'Neill.  
  
Unfortunately her week-end in Denver was cut short as Sam was paged back to Colorado Springs during dessert. Between her schedule and Pete's it would be three weeks before they got to see each other again. Then the instant she opened her front door to let him in she knew something was wrong.  
  
He looked at her with regret. "I'm sorry."  
  
After he'd left Sam had sat down on her couch in shock. Even through the haze her logical brain was doing the math. What exactly were the odds that both of the men she had feelings for would go back to their ex-wives within a couple of months of each other?

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She didn't tell anyone about the break-up. She knew if she did it would get back to the General, and somehow now that he'd moved on she didn't want any pity from him. Daniel let slip one day that Jack wasn't joining them because he had plans. He was obviously curious and Sam was surprised that he didn't know.  
  
"He's back with his ex-wife, Daniel," she told him.  
  
"Sara?" Daniel asked in shock.  
  
"Unless he has another ex-wife," Sam had teased. "Pete and I ran into them out one night."  
  
Daniel hadn't said anything, but he thought it seemed odd. He decided to bring up the subject to Jack the next time the General wandered into his lab to bother him. He didn't have to wait long. The next morning Jack sat down with a loud sigh and mumbled something about requisition forms multiplying overnight on his desk. Daniel just smirked.  
  
"I'm not kidding Daniel. When I left last night I had a nice manageable stack to deal with this morning before the first briefing. This morning I walk in and they are overflowing out of my in-box," he complained.  
  
"You have an in box? I thought your whole desk was your in-box," Daniel commented.  
  
"Ha! Very funny. Remind me again why I took this position?" Jack asked looking for something to fiddle with on the shelf next to him.  
  
"Because you can do whatever you want," Daniel reminded him.  
  
"As long as I fill it out in triplicate and seven people sign off on it," Jack grumbled.  
  
"So what's up with you and Sara?" Daniel asked, not so subtly changing the subject.  
  
"Sarah?" Jack asked frowning. "I haven't seen her since we all went out that night a few weeks ago," he replied.  
  
"Not Sarah, as in my Sarah. Sara as in your ex-wife, Sara," Daniel clarified "Sam said you two were seeing each other again."  
  
Jack frowned. "Not really. We had dinner one night, and I've been over at the house helping her go through things. She's getting married and selling the house, so she needed to clear out everything. We've been going through boxes of Charlie's stuff that we couldn't handle sorting before," Jack explained.  
  
"Does Sam know that?" Daniel inquired.  
  
"I don't think so, why?" Jack asked.  
  
"Well, I think that she thinks that you are back together with Sara," Daniel told him.  
  
"I don't know why she would think that, but I doubt she cares," Jack said with a sigh. "I'd better get back to my office before the damn paperwork replicates again," he said getting up and putting an end to the conversation.  
  
"Oh, I think she cares, Jack," Daniel murmured after he'd left the lab.

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Now contrary to some peoples opinions, Daniel was very observant, and he knew that Sam should probably be told the truth about Jack's relationship with Sara as soon as possible before she did something stupid like getting herself engaged thinking Jack had moved on. However the archeologist was easily distracted and when SG6 brought him back a treasure trove of artifacts to study he buried himself in his lab for days and barely surfaced. So it wasn't until Sam got herself thrown in the brig for insubordination that he remembered there was situation brewing that needed his attention.  
  
It all started when Jack got called to Washington for a several days of meetings. He left Reynolds in charge after insuring that SG1 was going to be around to lend a hand if anything happened. Sam planned on burying herself in her lab, and finally getting some work done on trying to figure out the power source that a small flashlight-like device found on P2R-389 was using. The darn thing had been sitting there turned on when SG14 found it and it was still working although it had probably been hundreds of years since it had last been touched. That was one hell of a battery.  
  
She was in the middle of some very delicate experiments when suddenly the lights dimmed, and then after a moment went out entirely. As the emergency generators kicked in she was desperately trying to make sure that all of her equipment was shut down safely and hoping that she hadn't just lost hours worth of data when she was paged to the control room.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, hold your horses" she muttered. "I only have two hands."  
  
By the time she had made it to the control room, power had been restored. However Reynolds was having a fit because the iris was stuck halfway closed. Her fingers flew over the keyboard and in a manner of seconds she had the iris closed, and had checked to ensure all other systems were functioning correctly. Unfortunately, Reynolds couldn't resist chastising her for her slow response time.  
  
"Colonel, when you are paged to the control room, it is expected that you will drop everything and get here on the double," he warned.  
  
Now Sam hadn't been having a very good week as it was. She was depressed over her love-life that had totally fallen apart. On top of that, her reception into the ranks of team leaders had been less then welcoming and she was having to prove herself all over again. And just to make sure her week was totally miserable, a couple of lab techs had taken it upon themselves to take apart a delicate shielding technology and then had been unable to reassemble it causing her to spend several long nights in the lab fixing it. She'd been cranky to begin with, then just a couple of hours earlier she had realized she was missing the General coming in to bug her, and had decided that she really had reached rock bottom if that was the only thing she had to look forward to in her life. So it really wasn't surprising that she turned on Colonel Reynolds with more than a bit of fire in her eyes.  
  
"I apologize, Sir," she said through gritted teeth, putting a sarcastic emphasis on the title. "Next time, I will let whatever I am working on in my lab simply blow up, Sir."

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It took Sam almost half an hour in the holding cell to calm down enough to admit to herself that she probably shouldn't have actually mumbled the "power hungry idiot" part aloud. One more thing she could blame Jack O'Neill for. Besides breaking her heart, the man was a terrible influence. Her eyes opened wide as she let that first part rattle around in her brain. Pete had broken her heart, not Jack. Right?  
  
With a groan she curled up in a ball in the corner on the cot. She was so damned confused. She'd thought having guys die on her was bad. But she had to admit having them voluntarily leaving was much worse. Was she really that impossible to maintain a relationship with?  
  
Daniel and Teal'c found her like that. Daniel immediately asked for her side of the story. Teal'c did not even need that. He simply offered to go knock some sense into Reynolds.  
  
"No, Teal'c. Leave it be. We were both wrong," Sam sighed sitting up.  
  
"And yet you are the only one in a cell," the Jaffa pointed out.  
  
"True," Sam acknowledged. She knew, despite anything she might say that Reynolds would do well to steer clear of her friend for a long time to come.  
  
"Jack's on his way back," Daniel told her, causing Sam to groan.  
  
"It just keeps getting better and better," she complained.  
  
While the General would most likely smooth things over and keep Reynolds from filing charges she was sure she would never hear the end of it. Maybe she should request an immediate transfer. It was getting harder and harder to find any joy in her job anyway. At least since she'd found out Jack was dating his ex-wife. Once again her brain had to do a few loops to catch up to what her subconscious was implying.  
  
Damn the man.


	2. Single

Title: "The Ex Factor"  
  
Author: Jackie W.  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
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Jack O'Neill stormed through the SGC as airmen scurried to get out of his way. By the time he reached his office he was ready to rip Reynolds apart with his bare hands. Carter, insubordinate? Had anyone checked her for alien influence? Because Carter didn't do insubordinate. Well, not much, and only when it was really needed.  
  
"What the hell happened?" he asked Reynolds the instant he spotted him. "I'm gone for two days and you have one of our best officers in a holding cell!"  
  
"She called me a power hungry idiot, Sir," Reynolds protested.  
  
Well that sure didn't sound like Carter. Jack sighed. "Start from the beginning, Colonel," he ordered.  
  
Listening to Reynolds it quickly became apparent to Jack that the man had been acting like a power hungry idiot. Still, Carter knew better than to call him on it. Something else must be up with her and Reynolds had just been a convenient target for her anger. He wondered if he should get Daniel to go talk to her, then rubbed a hand across his face as he realized he was the one that needed to do it.  
  
"And you thought that comment warranted throwing her in a holding cell?" Jack finally asked bringing Reynolds explanation to an end. "Wasn't that a bit excessive?" Then another thought occurred to him. "Do you have a problem with Lt. Colonel Carter, Reynolds?"  
  
"No, Sir!" Reynolds replied a bit too quickly.  
  
Damn, in all of the transitions Jack had somehow missed it. Carter was the only female team leader, and the leader of the premier team at that. There was obviously some resentment there. He thought back to the last couple of team leader meetings and realized Carter had been uncharacteristically quiet. Which meant she obviously knew that the other men hadn't accepted her yet. Crap.  
  
"Well I'm glad to hear it. I would hate to have to transfer you because you have a problem with a female officer who has had to work twice as hard for each one of her promotions as you have," Jack told the Colonel with an icy glare. "You're a fine officer Reynolds, and I'm glad to have you as my 2IC, but I would let you go in an instant if I thought that was the case," he warned.  
  
Reynolds didn't need it spelled out for him, and he had to admit he had been hard on Carter, dressing her down in front of the control room staff. "Understood, Sir. I admit I overreacted. I'll apologize to the Lt. Colonel if she will do the same."  
  
"Fair enough. Get Carter the hell out of that cell and have her report to my office. Then stick around, I'll call you when we are ready for you," Jack ordered.  
  
Five minutes later, Sam walked into his office with a stubborn set to her shoulders. Before she could say anything in her defense Jack held up his hand to stop her.  
  
"Here is what is going to happen. You are going to apologize to Colonel Reynolds," he told her, stopping her when she would have protested. "Colonel Reynolds is then going to apologize to you, and we will put this entire matter to rest," he continued.  
  
To his relief Sam nodded her agreement. "I'm sorry you had to be called back to deal with this, Sir."  
  
"Don't be. It was a relief to have an excuse to escape," he admitted with a grin.  
  
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The apologies had been polite and formal. Jack was glad to have the whole mess over with, and smart enough to know that Sam had to work out her differences with her peers herself with no interference from her commanding officer. At best he would only be able to keep an eye on the situation to make sure it wasn't getting out of hand. He also knew Carter well enough to know that something else was bothering her, so he suggested since he was back in town earlier than expected that Daniel, Teal'c, Carter and he head out for a decent meal on Thursday night.  
  
It was tough to pry Carter away. She had lost a lot more work than just the analysis had been working on when the power went out (caused by an airman cutting a main power line while he was doing some construction on a new security station on level 11). Jack had to appeal to Daniel to get him to drag her away.  
  
"Something is bothering her, Daniel. If we get her out and relaxed maybe she will talk about it," he suggested.  
  
Daniel doubted it, especially if what he suspected was true. He would need to get Sam alone at some point and try to subtly let her know that Jack was not back with Sara. Still, between her responsibilities as a team leader and her work in the lab, she did need to take a break, so he rounded up re-enforcements in the form of Teal'c and bullied her into leaving with them.  
  
Sam had to admit an hour later that the break had been needed. She was just starting to feel the tension ease away when the group started talking about plans for the week-end.  
  
"So are you and Pete getting together, Sam?" Daniel asked casually.  
  
"Um, no, not this week-end," Sam replied, suddenly tense again.  
  
"What about you Jack? Any plans?" Daniel continued.  
  
"Yeah, I promised a friend I'd help them move.," Jack told them, smiling at how Sara had been so nervous asking if they could possibly use his truck to move some of her more valuable items rather than risking the movers damaging or losing any of them.  
  
At that point Sam excused herself. She used her time in the restroom to calm her nerves again and returned to the table just in time to hear the end of Daniel and Jack in conversation.  
  
"So you're moving Sara?" Daniel was saying. 'When's the wedding?"  
  
"Six weeks from now," Jack replied and Sam's heart literally froze.  
  
"Have you told Sam about Sara yet?" Daniel pressed.  
  
"It's none of her business, Daniel," Jack said with a sigh.  
  
Teal'c returned at that moment from the bar with another round of drinks and the conversation ceased. Sam only knew that she needed to escape. Quickly she pulled out her cell phone and put it to her ear as she approached the table, pretending to be in the middle of a conversation. She 'hung up' and turned to her friends.  
  
"Sorry guys. There is a problem in labs with one of the experiments and I need to go back in. I'll see you all tomorrow," she assured them.  
  
She was out the door before anyone could question who was working in the lab at that time of night.  
  
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She spent the rest of the evening with a pint of Ben and Jerry's ice cream trying to figure out just what she was supposed to do now. Her desperate attempt at normalcy with Pete had failed miserably, and worse yet seemed to have driven a wedge between her and the General that was so deep that he didn't even consider her friend enough to tell her he was getting married.  
  
Somehow, she was never quite sure how, she made it through the next day and then escaped gratefully from the mountain. Luck had been on her side as Daniel had been sent out with SG7 so he was not around to question her. The weather was so beautiful that she didn't even have to think twice before she had a small duffle packed and loaded onto the back of her bike. She headed south, in the general direction of Santa Fe, hoping that few days of fresh air would clear her mind, and sooth her weary heart.  
  
She returned on Monday with a firm grip on her emotions. She was determined to concentrate on her career and to give romance and men in general a wide birth. Other than as friends they just weren't worth the effort.  
  
She was seriously considering getting another cat.  
  
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Weeks passed. As SG1, with Carter at the helm, put several more missions under their belt Sam began to relax into her role and find a comfort zone amongst the other team leaders. Jack's only remaining concern was that there seemed to be a distance between the two of them now. Carter wasn't avoiding him or anything, but there was a definite wall up. He put it down to her relationship with Shanahan, which meant that any desire to break down the wall got put into the box with all of the other Carter emotions that were not allowed.  
  
Sam fell back into the routines she had maintained before Pete with two noticeable exceptions. She now had twice as much work to do with the addition of all of the tasks required of a team leader, and she no longer flirted with General O'Neill. No lingering glances, no smiles meant just for him. Surprisingly, her relationship with Pete hadn't prevented her from doing any of that, but thinking Jack was in a relationship stopped it dead. She really missed it.  
  
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It was the final weekend of the summer before Cassie would be going off to college when everything came to a head. Jack had insisted that they have a get together at his place. Sam wanted desperately to find an excuse not to go, but since the party was technically for Cassandra she was trapped. Dreading facing Sara O'Neill, she almost thought about trying to bring a date, but that would have revealed that she and Pete were no longer together so she decided to go it alone.  
  
She was surprised when she arrived to not see any signs of the past and future Mrs. O'Neill. Not only was the woman herself nowhere to be seen, there was nothing in the house to indicate that she had moved in. Confused, she vowed to pull Daniel aside later as question him. In the meantime she plastered a smile on her face and went to greet her friends.  
  
"No Shanahan?" Jack asked.  
  
"No, Sir," Sam replied.  
  
Cassie looked in confusion from Sam to Jack. Then she turned to Daniel. "Why would that jerk come? He's totally history!" she exclaimed.  
  
Jack felt a weight suddenly lift off of his heart. She wasn't seeing Shanahan anymore! Why hadn't she told them? All eyes were on Sam now, and she just shrugged.  
  
"We went our separate ways," she explained.  
  
But Daniel caught the warning glare that she sent to Cassie and was determined to get to the bottom of it, so later while Sam was occupied in the kitchen he cornered the teen.  
  
"So what's the real scoop, Cass?" he asked.  
  
She hesitated, but this was Daniel, and she knew he could be trusted. "The bastard dumped her and went back to his ex-wife," Cassie told him.  
  
Suddenly all sorts of warning bells went off in Daniel's head. No wonder she had been so down. If she thought that Jack had hooked back up with Sara it would have been like a double punch to the gut. And he knew he'd let this go on much too long. He nodded his thanks to Cassie and headed out to the deck where Jack was grilling. Behind him he heard the teen go into the kitchen to distract Sam. She was a good kid.  
  
"Jack you have to talk to Sam, tonight," Daniel blurted out, causing Jack to raise an eyebrow.  
  
"I believe I have already, Daniel," he replied with a smirk.  
  
"No, really talk. Pete dumped her, went back to his ex-wife, and she never said a word to any of us. She's hurting Jack," Daniel insisted.  
  
"Daniel, you know I'm crap at that sort of thing. You and Teal'c would be much better at consoling her than I would," Jack complained.  
  
"Jack, she thinks you went back to your ex-wife too," Daniel pointed out.  
  
Jack never gave much away but just for a moment Daniel saw him pause as that piece of information sunk in. He was about to press the point when Jack's pager went off.  
  
Five minutes later they were all on their way back to base, leaving Cassie behind to make sure everything was turned off and put away. SG2 had failed to report in, and Jack needed SG1 back with him in case a rescue needed to be mounted.  
  
An hour after they arrived, SG teams 1, 3 and 4 were geared up and ready to go. The UAV had flown a circle pattern around the gate on P4R-880 and found a primitive village. Several members of SG2 had been spotted there, but had not responded to radio contact. Both Sam and Reynolds had pointed to the same hill as the small remote plane flew over it and had actually smiled at each other knowing they were both thinking the same thing.  
  
"We should be able to get a good view with plenty of coverage from there, Sir," Carter had pointed out after Reynolds had nodded to give her the floor.  
  
"We can leave two men at the gate, and position another two here on this pathway to the village to keep the way back to gate clear for us," Reynolds added.  
  
Jack had given them the go ahead and put Sam in charge of the mission. Now she confidently took point as they headed through the gate. He watched them go with a heavy heart. It was always hard to send SG1 out without him, and knowing Sam wasn't in top form worried him even more. He'd seen the set of her shoulders when she led the teams up the ramp though.

The Lt. Colonel had been in firm control, and knew he could count on her. 


	3. Recovery

Title: "The Ex Factor"  
  
Author: Jackie W.  
  
Rating: PG-13

Thanks for all of the great reviews! I meant to post more last night, but the site was slow and I finally gave up. Hopefully things will go better tonight!

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At first everything went as planned. Sam, Teal'c and Reynolds made it to the top of the hill to perform reconnaissance, after leaving men at the gate and on the path. The remainder of the teams waited at the bottom of the hill for orders, and to watch the backs of the three up top. They'd spotted several holes in the defenses immediately. Circling around to the west side of the village, Reynolds and one of his men had taken out two guards, allowing Carter and Teal'c to slink through the darkness to where SG2 was being held. Once there, the lone guard had been no problem, and as the latch on the cell door was crude at best, Sam had made short work of opening the door and quietly pointing the men to where Reynolds was waiting in the woods.  
  
Teal'c and Daniel followed the last of SG2 and Sam took the rear. She was almost to the tree line when all hell broke loose. She barely had time to radio ahead that they were going to be coming in hot before the first of the villagers were upon her. She pulled out her zat and took down the first two, hoping that would cause the group behind them to pause. Instead, thinking that she had killed their friends they raced forward filled with rage. She automatically surveyed the types of weapons they were up against. She saw nothing that could be shot from a long range, all of the villagers seemed to carry only knives and clubs. From behind her, Teal'c fired off a warning shot from his staff at the feet of the oncoming men. That did slow them down. By the time the dust had cleared, Teal'c and Sam had disappeared into the trees.  
  
She kept herself in between the angry inhabitants of the planet and the fleeing SG teams, and continuously radioed ahead. Once, the men following attempted to spread out and circle around ahead of the escaping group. Luckily Sam saw what they were doing and communicated it to Reynolds who had a couple of his men swing out and take care of the left and right flanks of the pursuers. The enemy had quickly regrouped in the middle and hadn't tried that maneuver again. Now as they neared the gate she radioed ahead for the men there to dial out.  
  
"Don't slow down whatever you do, when you reach the gate just get your butts on through," she ordered.  
  
Despite her order she wasn't really surprised to see Daniel and Teal'c waiting for her when she burst through some brush out into the clearing around the gate. There were men right at her heals and she was ever so grateful when she saw both of her teammates raise their zats and aim behind her. She felt the energy tingle around her as one of the charges just missed her, and she stumbled and would have fallen if Teal'c's strong arms hadn't grabbed her and pulled her on through with him.  
  
She screamed to close the iris the moment she hit the ramp, and then waited to hear the dreaded thumping sound afterwards. Luckily there was none. The inhabitants of P4R-880 must not have followed them through the wormhole. It was only now, as Sam tried to slow her heart rate that she realized that her shoulder was killing her. She saw Daniel's eyes widen even as the medical staff ran over to her. She looked over her shoulder and could just make out the handle of what she presumed was a knife imbedded in her.  
  
"Ouch, that's gotta hurt," Jack sympathized as he entered and saw her predicament.  
  
"As a matter of fact, it does, Sir," Sam grimaced.  
  
"Teal'c, assist the Colonel down to the infirmary," Jack ordered. "I'll be down as soon as I can. The debriefing will be tomorrow at 08:00," he let them know.

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She'd been lucky. The knife had hit the strap of her pack, and so had not penetrated as deeply as it normally would have. Therefore the muscle damage was minimal and would probably not need physical therapy. The bad news was that the wound was infected (she didn't want to even think about the possibilities of what the blade might have been in contact with before it was thrown at her) and while the doctor was throwing everything in her arsenal at it, it was being stubborn. She would be out of commission for a bit while her body fought it off.  
  
On the bright side, the rescue had been just in time. The men in SG2 had had considerable language difficulties with the inhabitants of P4R-880, but it had been quite clear that they were about to be executed. They didn't have a clue as to why. When Carter had opened the door to the cell they had been sure that it was their captors coming to kill them.  
  
"Never was so glad to see anyone as I was to see Sam looking like an avenging angel, swooping in and getting our butts out of there without ever saying a word," Griff recalled at the debrief, causing Sam to blush and her teammates to suppress smiles.  
  
Sam was actually fairly quiet during the debrief, once she'd given her basic report. She let Reynolds and Griff fill in the blanks from their perspectives, and then hi-tailed it out of the room as soon as they were done, so she didn't see Reynolds enter O'Neill's office.  
  
"She did good out there," Reynolds acknowledged. "Spotted their flanking maneuver instantly and kept a cool head. Reminded me of you," he stated with a grin.  
  
"God I hope not. She's a lot smarter than I am. As for the rest, I would expect nothing less than that from her. She's been ready for command for a while. Being on SG1 held her back," Jack admitted.  
  
"Well, I just thought you should know. You don't need to worry about her out there," Colonel Reynolds stated.  
  
Jack looked at the man to see if there was anything behind those words, but if there was, Stan Reynolds wasn't giving anything away. Jack decided to take it at face value.  
  
"I worry about all of you out there, Stan. Can't help it," Jack shrugged.  
  
Reynolds nodded. He knew that and so did all of the other men and women that put their lives on the lines every time they walked through the gate. It was why they had respected Hammond so much, and why that respect had now transferred easily to O'Neill. He also knew the man was only human and it was natural for him to worry about SG1 just a little bit more. They were his team. Always would be. Not to mention they were the team that managed to get into the most trouble. And he certainly would never suggest that the General would worry about one Lt. Colonel Carter more than anyone else.  
  
Even if it was true.  
  
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After another shot in the rear end, and checking her wound, Sam was finally released from Dr. Brightman's immediate care just before lunch. She had strict instructions. NO alcohol, plenty of rest, and she had to return the next day for a checkup. It was Friday night, and the thought of spending the evening alone in her house was not appealing. Cassie had left the day before to get settled in before classes started, so for the first time in months it would be just Sam.  
  
It was days like this that she missed Janet the most. Janet would have offered to come over that night with ice cream and would have assisted Sam in pigging out as a substitute for getting royally drunk. She then would have joined Sam in cursing Pete, General O'Neill and all men just out of principal.  
  
Of course if Janet was still alive she would have wrung out of Daniel the fact that Jack was not back together with Sara, and she would have told Sam.  
  
Sam had the airman who drove her home go through the drive–thru and get her a burger she could easily eat left-handed. Now however she was staring blankly at the take-out menus trying to figure out what to try to tackle for dinner. Pizza would probably be the easiest she'd just decided when her doorbell rang.  
  
She smiled when she saw Daniel and Teal'c standing there with bags of food. Then her eyes widened in surprise as she realized that the General was standing behind them with his own offering of a six-pack of diet cola.  
  
"We figured you need easy-to-eat food, so we stopped at that Italian deli and got several of those sub sandwiches you like so much," Daniel explained.  
  
"The ones on the soft Italian bread?" Sam asked, as her stomach grumbled in hunger at the thought.  
  
"Yeah and there is lemon sorbeto for dessert," Daniel added.  
  
"You guys are mind readers. Thanks," she smiled.  
  
"Hey, we all know what it's like to try to eat one-handed. And lefty at that," Jack shrugged returning the grin.  
  
For a split second Sam let herself respond to the twinkle in those brown eyes. Then she abruptly put the walls back up. Jack saw it happen, and remembered Daniel's comment from two days ago. Suddenly he realized that the distance that he'd thought was because of her relationship with Shanahan was actually due to her misconception that he was back with his ex-wife. Daniel was right, he really needed to talk to her. As they ate, he racked his brain to find a way to bring up the subject without it seeming odd. Not an easy task for someone who never talked about his personal life.  
  
Finally he had a brainstorm. "Hey Carter, since you're going to be on light duty for a bit, I could use your help on something," he commented.  
  
"Certainly, Sir," Sam replied.  
  
Jack held back a grimace. That had been a polite response at best.  
  
"Well, I have to go to a wedding in a few weeks, and I need something nice. Normally I just give cash, but in this case I really need to buy something more personal. I thought you might help give me some ideas, or even go shopping with me. You have good taste," he explained, looking around her living room.  
  
"Thank you, Sir," she said blushing. "I'd be happy to help."  
  
Jack was relieved to see Sam unbend just a bit. He was on the right track. If he could just re-establish their friendship, he'd be happy.  
  
"How much do you know about the couple?" Sam asked. "If they are close friends it will be easier to figure out what they would like."  
  
"Well, I've met the groom but I don't really know him. The bride I know well," he told with a quirky grin. "You've met her. My ex-wife Sara is getting married. Some guy named Geoff she met through a friend," Jack informed her.  
  
The confusion and shock was quickly masked, but all three of the men had noticed. Daniel almost sighed in relief. Thank goodness that was all out in the open now. Maybe they could all get back to normal. Although he couldn't help but hope that maybe Sam and Jack would move forward from here and not go back to the same old song and dance.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
Once she had her house to herself later that night, Sam sank down onto her couch and let the immense relief wash over her. There was no way to deny her feeling at that point. She still was in love with her commanding officer and it was only as the pain of thinking he was lost to her began to ebb that she was able to fully realize the depth of those feelings. Ever since she had seen him out with Sara that night it had been like she was walking around half dead.  
  
Now however, she was coming back to life rapidly, and the sensation was akin to the pins and needles you get when a limb is regaining lost circulation. It hurt. Enough that she really didn't want to feel like this ever again. She didn't want to put Jack through it again either. She knew now that she had probably hurt him a lot more by starting a relationship with Pete.  
  
The two of them were totally pathetic. He locked down his feelings so tight that you sometimes forgot that he had any. She was so afraid of the intensity of what she felt for him that she'd gone scurrying off to find a safer relationship. One of them needed to be brave enough to take the first step towards the other or they would end up tearing each other apart.  
  
Somehow she knew it was going to have to be her. 


	4. A Date?

Title: "The Ex Factor"  
  
Author: Jackie W.  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
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Sam gathered her courage a few days later and stopped in the General's office to ask when would be a good time to go shopping for the wedding present he had asked her to help with.  
  
"Well the wedding isn't for another three weeks, but I'm free this Saturday. How about then?" Jack asked.  
  
"That works for me, Sir," Sam replied. "Are Sara and Geoff registered anywhere?"  
  
Jack looked confused.  
  
"It might have been noted on part of the invitation, Sir," Sam informed him.  
  
"I'll bring it with me when I pick you up and you can check it over," Jack delegated with relief.  
  
Sam agreed, hiding her amusement and they set a time for him to pick her up on Saturday. In the days that followed the tension that had been between them for months slowly began to relax. They were a long way from the easy teasing and friendship that existed before Sam had decided she needed to move forward in her life and had started dating Pete, but it was a start. So by the time Saturday rolled around she was looking forward to their excursion.  
  
He arrived five minutes early, but knowing him as well as she did she was ready and waiting, which made him smile. He handed her the invitation and stood back to watch her as she looked it over. Sure enough after a minute her forehead was creased with that look she always got when trying to unravel a puzzle.  
  
"Well, they are registered at Dillard's, but Sir, did you realize that you haven't responded yet to say if you are attending the wedding? The response cards were due today," she pointed out.  
  
"Yeah, I know. Sara called last week and asked me to consider coming, but I'm thinking not. It would just be too awkward. All of those ex-in-laws looking down their noses at me," he explained.  
  
"Wear your dress blues and give them the look you usually give to the Goa'uld," Sam suggested.  
  
"That's what Sara said. Well at least the past about the dress blues. She also suggested I order the prettiest woman in my command to escort me," he chuckled.  
  
"Not a bad idea," Sam agreed.  
  
Jack paused. It wasn't a bad idea. "Well that would be you, Carter, and if I tried to order you to do something like that I think I would get my ass kicked," he commented.  
  
She could feel herself blushing, and saw him grin. Damn the man. He knew how to get to her way too well, and that Irish charm of his turned on in full force should be declared illegal. 'Pretty' my foot. She knew she was no slouch, but she couldn't remember the word 'pretty' being associated with her since she was six and her father's CO had called her 'a pretty little girl'.  
  
"Very funny, Sir. And you are right, I would seriously question an order like that," she responded.  
  
Jack O'Neill was a master at reading the emotions in Sam Carter's blue eyes, and he watched with glee as they widened in surprise and she blushed in embarrassment at being called pretty. Then he observed as she thought about the comment, as he knew she would. He could see the exact moment when she dismissed the remark as untrue, and it made him sad that she didn't see herself as others did.  
  
Most men found Carter beautiful, himself included, but he suddenly realized that no man had ever taken the time to make her feel it. He knew Jonas Hanson had been bad news, and had seriously undermined Sam's confidence in herself on a personal level. Narim and Orlin had put her on a pedestal, making it kind of hard for her to take their compliments seriously. And he bet that she'd always had a bit of doubt as to just whom Martouf saw when he looked at her.  
  
As much as her relationship with Pete Shanahan had hurt, even he'd had to admit that it had been good for her. While Lt. Colonel Sam Carter had never lacked confidence on a professional level, Sam had always been a bit reserved personally. Pete had brought her out of her shell. Then he had dumped her and not only undone all the good he had achieved, but Jack suspected he had knocked her back a few steps in the process.  
  
Only partially realizing what he was getting himself into, Jack followed his impulses and threw himself into the path of an oncoming train with his next words.  
  
"So I won't make it an order. This is simply a request. Would you please consider going with me to the wedding? Make sure I behave myself and keep Sara's family and some of our old friends from ganging up on me?" he asked her.  
  
"Watch your six, Sir?" Sam asked trying to keep her tone light, although she was finding the whole idea much too tempting.  
  
"Well, I don't think you'll need a P-90. The weapon of choice for the evening will simply entail wearing something that will make me the envy of every man in the place," he challenged.  
  
She blushed slightly again at that thought but then nodded. "Ok, I'll go. But I don't know about the other part. For one thing, I wouldn't upstage the bride even if I could. I promise I'll come up with something nice though as long as you wear your dress blues so I can be the envy of every woman in the place," she agreed.  
  
"Deal. Now let's go get this darn present bought," he said feeling slightly relieved.  
  
It would be another week before he realized that he had a date with Sam Carter.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
The day of the wedding was bright and sunny, with just the beginning of real warmth in the May air. Sara O'Neill (nee Downing) took this as a good sign, and it calmed the small fit of nerves she had been battling for the last twenty-four hours. By the time she was walking down the aisle she was the picture of a confident happy bride. The family and friends in the pews to either side of her barely registered, so it wasn't until she was coming back up the aisle as Mrs. Geoffrey McCormick that she noticed the blue uniform at the back of the church and smiled. It meant a lot to her that Jack had come to support her today.  
  
She knew he would be at the end of the receiving line, but still she found herself watching for him. He had responded that he was bringing a guest, and that had definitely peaked her curiosity. She hoped he hadn't actually ordered anyone to come, but she wouldn't put it past the man. When she spotted him and the blond next to him her eyes widened. Well he certainly had taken her advice to invite someone pretty to heart.  
  
As the end of the line made it's way to the happy couple Sara's eyes opened wide in recognition. She remembered seeing this woman that day at the hospital when all hell had broken loose. She was a member of Jack's team then. She hadn't noticed that much about her at the time, except that she was younger and had been incredibly gentle but firm as she's led Sara out of the building to safety. She certainly looked different today in a beautiful but simple lilac and dark blue dress that showed off the figure that the BDU's had been hiding all those years ago. Sara was jolted out of her thoughts when Jack reached her father and her Dad shook his hand in surprise. Then Jack was introducing his date.  
  
"Mike, this is Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter," he said.  
  
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Michael Downing replied. "I didn't expect to see you Jack."  
  
"I promised Sara, Mike," Jack told him by way of explanation and Mike nodded his approval.  
  
Then Jack and the Lt. Colonel turned to Sara and Geoff to offer their congratulations To Sara's surprise Jack leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek.  
  
"You look great," he whispered before leaning back and once again introducing the blond at his side.  
  
"I'm so glad you came, Jack. You too Samantha," the bride told them with a smile.  
  
"Please, call me Sam," the other woman replied. Then they were quickly introduced to Geoff's parents before leaving to head out to the church's front steps. Before they turned away Sara put her hand on Jack's arm.  
  
"Don't leave before we have a chance to talk," she requested, looking at Sam pointedly.  
  
Jack nodded his assent, and then they were out in the bright sunshine.  
  
"I have a feeling I'm going to get the third degree later," Sam smirked.  
  
"Nah, she's just curious. I'll explain that you are just a friend," Jack assured her, and was surprised to see the smile disappear momentarily before another was forced back on her face.  
  
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Hours later Jack was still wondering about that reaction. He was sure he hadn't imagined it. Sam had definitely seemed hurt when he had said they were just friends. Sam for her part felt like she was going through the motions. During the ceremony earlier in the day she had felt an overwhelming sadness at the thought that she might never find anyone to share her life with. She reminded herself several times that she had decided that didn't need a man in her life to make it complete and had pretty much pulled herself out of the funk she was in by the time they had greeted the bride and groom.  
  
So why had Jack's statement about them being friends felt like a he had just twisted the knife in a bit deeper? Why was she sitting here now watching the bride and groom cut the cake, wishing she could just curl up in a ball and cry? She took another cautious sip of her wine. She knew better than to get drunk in the mood she was in. Besides, she needed to stay sober to keep an eye on the General and make sure he wasn't cornered by anyone looking for to gossip.  
  
Unfortunately for poor Jack, her skills at watching his back were needed badly that night. Several of Sara's relatives had moved in for the kill, and only Sam's smiling presence at his side had kept things civil. Then there had been the overly curious members of Geoff's family who were trying to get the details on Sara's past. Finally Sam was relieved to meet up with a friend of Jack's whose wife had been close to Sara. Amazingly the couple had managed to remain friends with both Sara and Jack after the divorce by not taking sides or judging. Jack and Ed were immediately deep into a conversation analyzing the various baseball teams and their chances this season and Chris took pity on Sam.  
  
"You look like you could use a break. Why don't we grab our wineglasses and head out to the courtyard. It's heated and much quieter," she suggested.  
  
Sam looked at the older woman and saw nothing but open friendliness in her features, so she enthusiastically agreed. A few minutes later they were settled in a couple of chairs around a small table on the patio. Despite the chill of the evening it was quite comfortable as small hidden heaters kept the area toasty.  
  
"So how long have you known Jack?" Chris asked.  
  
"Almost seven and a half years," Sam replied politely.  
  
"I guess you know all about Sara and Charlie," Chris inquired.  
  
"He never talks about them, but yeah," Sam confirmed.  
  
"That sounds like Jack. The man never could open up," Chris sighed. "It was the final straw for Sara after Charlie died. She needed someone to share the grief with, Jack needed to keep it all to himself. It wasn't healthy."  
  
"It might have been the only way he could survive the pain. Sometimes it's so overwhelming that if you give it even a bit of room to maneuver it will swallow you whole," Sam explained somehow needing to defend Jack to his friend.  
  
"There speaks the voice of experience," Chris mused looking at the woman sitting across from her in speculation.  
  
Briefly, images passed through Sam's mind. The terror of being helpless in her own body when Jolinar had taken her as a host; the absolute nothingness surrounding her when the Entity had trapped her consciousness in the computer, and the pain and horror Fifth had inflicted on her a mere six months ago. Jack wasn't the only one to have experiences that were too painful to ever share.  
  
When she looked back up she found Chris Reeves looking at her with wide concerned eyes. "You do what you have to do to survive and move on," Sam told her with a shrug.  
  
Luckily they were interrupted a moment later by the bride, who spotted then as she stepped outside to get a breath of fresh air and immediately joined them sinking down in an empty chair with a sigh.  
  
"I should have eloped," she complained.  
  
Both women smiled despite the seriousness of their previous conversation.  
  
"It was a lovely ceremony," Sam assured her.  
  
"Thank you," Sara smiled. "So what's the story with you and Jack?"  
  
Sam eyes widened in surprise. Well that was direct and to the point.  
  
"We're just friends," she replied. "I was his 2IC for seven years, now he runs the base that I work at so he's still my CO."  
  
"You've put up with Jack as your commanding officer for over seven years? You're either a saint or certifiably insane," Sara chuckled.  
  
Sam had to smile. "The second I think," she replied.  
  
"Definitely the second because she's certainly no saint," Jack agreed from the doorway. "You abandoned me Carter," he complained.  
  
"Sorry, Sir," she said trying to keep a straight face. "Your six didn't appear to be in any danger."  
  
"It's a jungle in there, Carter. You have to be on guard at all times. Sara they are looking for you. I think they are ready for the first dance," he told them.  
  
"No rest for the weary," Sara complained. As she passed Jack on her way inside she put a hand on his arm. "Save me a dance later on."  
  
Forty-five minutes later Sam was bored to tears. The live band was quite good and most everyone had been lured to the dance floor including Ed and Chris. She'd made one attempt to get Jack out there, but even she'd admitted that the music they were playing at that moment wasn't exactly his style. In the mean time she'd turned down three requests from other men to dance. Three very brave men, she thought thinking of the evil eye Jack had given to each of them as they approached. Now however the music had gotten slow and dreamy and she saw another guy eyeing her trying to get up the courage to come over.  
  
"See that guy over there?" she asked nonchalantly.  
  
"The one that's practically drooling over you? Yeah, what about him?" Jack asked.  
  
"If you don't get off your ass and dance with me I'm going to go over and ask him to dance," she told him without blinking an eye.  
  
Jack's eyes widened in surprise. "Was that a threat, Colonel? Because I don't respond well to threats."  
  
"That's you're prerogative, Sir. I'm simply giving you the facts," she sighed.  
  
He decided to call her bluff. "Go for it, Carter."  
  
As he watched her walk across the room, stop and speak to the guy, and then be led onto the dance floor he quickly realized the error in that strategy. Carter rarely bluffed.  
  
"Nice to see you are still an idiot where women are concerned, Jack," his ex-wife said from behind him.  
  
"Yeah well you know what they say about old dogs," he replied.  
  
"Come on, dance with me," she ordered.  
  
This time he knew better than to argue. As they moved smoothly across the dance floor Sara watched Jack as his eyes sought out his date. She noticed that Sam was doing the same thing. She raised an eyebrow when she felt a jolt go through Jack as his eyes locked with Sam's for a split second.  
  
'So, not just friends,' she thought. Aloud she commented, "Why didn't you want to dance with her?"  
  
How could he explain just how bad an idea that was. The inappropriate feelings he had for her that he normally kept so carefully locked up had been released in a rush of relief when he'd found out she was no longer dating Shanahan. Now they refused to be shut away again, and holding her close in his arms was probably a more dangerous idea than trying to overpower a Goa'uld with brute strength.  
  
"It's complicated," he replied tersely.  
  
"She's under your command," Sara commented sagely.  
  
"Yes she is," Jack sighed.  
  
As the song ended Sara took a step back and looked him in the eye. "And yet even though it's complicated for her too she wanted to dance with you," she pointed out.  
  
At her words, his head snapped around to where Sam was moving off of the dance floor. He immediately noticed several men starting to migrate in her direction. Instinctively he took a few steps to block their path and came face to face with Sam who looked at him in surprise.  
  
He didn't say a word, just swept an arm in the direction of the dance floor and raised an eyebrow. She was tempted to just step around him and continue on back to her table, but then stopped. She knew he was a stubborn idiot. This was probably as close to an apology as she could expect.  
  
So she stepped back onto the dance floor and into his arms. 


	5. Love, Jack

Title: "The Ex Factor"  
  
Author: Jackie W.  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
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For the first several bars of the song they kept a respectful distance apart. But even at that distance Sam was intoxicated by the smell of him. She'd gotten a few tantalizing whiffs of whatever he was wearing earlier in the evening, but now it was combined with the smell of his soap and a scent that was just pure Jack O'Neill. The effect was overpowering.  
  
Jack was having a similar problem, but in addition to the soft smell of Sam's perfume that was causing his blood pressure to do a little dance, he was also extremely aware of the feel of Sam's warmth under his hand on her back. Not to mention how incredibly small her hand felt engulfed in his larger one. He spent so much time trying hard to think of her as one of the guys (although he never totally succeeded) that this sudden awareness of her femininity was causing all of the blood to rush to places he really didn't want it to.  
  
With a small groan he pulled her closer.  
  
With a large sigh she leaned in.  
  
This was probably the worst idea they had ever had, but somehow neither of them could manage to care at the moment.  
  
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The ride home was silent, but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence. Neither Sam nor Jack wanted to say anything to break the mood, so instead about half way back to Sam's, Jack had simply reached out his hand to capture Sam's and now was idly stroking it with his thumb while he contemplated where they went from here.  
  
Sam was thinking along similar lines. The whole relationship with Pete had occurred because she's been so darn tired of the limbo her life was in. She couldn't go back to that. But the way forward was full of so many obstacles it was hard to see a way through. Without realizing it she let out a frustrated sigh.  
  
Jack heard her, and wondered what she was thinking. He knew that tonight he'd been given a second chance with Sam. And this time he was determined not to let anything stand in his way. He'd tried to believe that her relationship with Shanahan was for the best as long as it made her happy. What the hell had he been thinking?  
  
When they reached Sam's house he pulled up to the curb and walked around to assist her out of the truck. They walked up to her front door in silence while he struggled to find the right words.  
  
"Sam," he began, only to have her raise a finger to his lips.  
  
"I'm not going anywhere, Jack. I made that mistake once. The uncertainty was slowly killing me and I needed to force our relationship out of limbo. It was all or nothing, and out of fear of what the 'all' meant I moved towards nothing. It was a huge mistake and I'm sorry. But I can't go back to what we had. I can't live that way anymore, so we need to make some decisions," she told him.  
  
Jack nodded and reached out to brush a stray hair behind her ear. His hand lingered on her cheek and he was drawn to her like a moth to a flame. As much as he wanted to crush her to him and devour her lips, he kept the kiss gentle, no more than a promise.  
  
"Give me a few days. I have some ideas I need to check out," he suggested.  
  
She nodded her agreement but looked slightly concerned. "Don't do anything too drastic without consulting me. Promise?"  
  
"Promise. SG1 is off-word on Monday for a few days. When you get back we'll talk. Maybe I'll have a solution by then," he offered.  
  
For the first time in years Sam let herself have hope for a future for the two of them.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
Jack's spent a restless night thinking of possible solutions to their situation, until finally he admitted there was nothing he could do without some further advice, at which point he fell into a sound sleep, and dreamed extremely pleasant dreams. Sunday morning found him up bright and early, waiting until it was a decent hour in DC, at which point he put a call into Hammond.  
  
Hammond was surprised by the call. For years he had been prepared for one of the two officers to walk into his office at any time and request help. He'd been dreading it, because short of a transfer, or losing one of them from the Air Force, his hands had been tied. But when he left for Washington he'd had a sense that Sam at least had moved on. Jack was impossible to read on the subject, which should have been a warning sign because he'd always been able to pretty much tell exactly how Jack O'Neill felt about Sam Carter up until that point.  
  
"Why now, Jack?" he asked curiously.  
  
It wasn't something that was easy for him to admit but Jack felt that since he was asking for his help that Hammond deserved his honesty. "I almost lost her George."  
  
It turned out for once his timing was good. The President had been consulting General Hammond for weeks about his long-term vision for running the SGC. He wanted someone that was not in the military, but had military experience that the men and women putting their lives on the line could respect.  
  
"Well, I think I might have a solution for you, Jack, if you're willing," Hammond reported.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
Nothing was going to be settled overnight, but Jack felt upbeat on Monday when he sent SG1 off-world. He stood staring at the Gate from the briefing room afterwards already missing Sam terribly, but knowing that it was better for them to be as far apart as possible right now. With hope looming the temptation to do something rash was overwhelming. And they had come too far to screw it up now. Still he hadn't been able to resist stashing a note in her backpack. He wondered when she would find it.  
  
Meanwhile on P6X-299 SG1 had secured the gate, checked the DHD to be sure it was functioning and moved the Malp out from in front of the gate. (A lesson they had learned on a desperate run back to the gate years before when they'd had to slow down to go around it and almost gotten killed).  
  
As they started the long trek to the ruins that had been deemed worthy of a full day hike there and back by virtue of the fact that Daniel thought the writing the UAV had picked up was Furling, they chatted quietly.  
  
"So Jack was in a good mood this morning," Daniel commented. "I thought Sara's wedding might have been stressful for him."  
  
"Guess not," Sam said. Jack had told Daniel and Teal'c that he was going to the wedding, but they hadn't told their friends that Sam was going as his date.  
  
"I tried to call you Saturday. Teal'c and I went to a movie and wanted to know if you were available," Daniel continued.  
  
"Sorry, I was busy. I got the message on my cell but didn't have time to call you back," she told him. "I tried calling you Sunday but I must have missed you. What did you guys see?"  
  
"We finally got to see Bourne Supremacy. It was good," Daniel informed her.  
  
"Yeah I saw it with Pete when it first came out," Sam acknowledged.  
  
"Yeah, how are doing, by the way. You seem happier the last few weeks," Daniel commented.  
  
"I am. I think everything worked out for the best," Sam told him. When he flicked her a concerned glance she smiled. "Honestly, Daniel. Moving forward with a relationship with Pete would have ended up being a huge mistake."  
  
"Why is that?" Daniel prodded.  
  
"I was going out with him for all the wrong reasons," she shrugged.  
  
At that point they reached thicker grove of trees and Sam checked her instruments to verify the path they should take, glad to have a reason to break off the conversation. She wasn't quite ready to admit to her friends what was going on. Not until she was on surer ground. If everything fell apart at this point she didn't think she could handle their sympathy.  
  
Several hours later they decided to take a break. When Sam reached in her pack to snag some power bars for them she was surprised to find an envelope nestled in with the food. As Daniel and Teal'c chatted she pulled it out to see that it was standard USAF stationary with 'Confidential' stamped above her name. She frowned and opened it.  
  
Sam,  
  
Hope the planet has lots of trees. Things here are looking up. Come back in one piece.  
  
Love,  
Jack

She couldn't help but smile. It was so perfect. No flowery declarations, just one simple word to let her know how he felt. And yet it ranked as the best love letter she'd ever gotten. She tucked the note back into the envelope and dug around until she found one of her waterproof bags and slipped it inside so that it would be protected if her pack got wet.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
It was Teal'c who finally put all the pieces together and clued Daniel in as to what he thought was going on. The Jaffa had seen Sam take the note out, and noticed that afterwards throughout the afternoon there had been a smile flickering across her features when she thought no one was looking. Putting together the fact that the note could only have been secreted in her pack by someone at the SGC with O'Neill's almost cheery disposition before they left, he deduced that his friends had finally gotten their act together.  
  
Daniel was skeptical at first, but over the campfire that night he caught Sam with a faraway look in her eyes. He turned to Teal'c, who nodded knowingly. Daniel turned to Sam and studied her carefully. There was definitely something different about her. He was dying of curiosity, but one thing being on SG1 with three of the most private people in the universe had taught him was that there was no point in pressing. Sam would tell him what was going on when she was ready.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
The rest of the mission went as planned. Their campsite was a sort walk from the ruins the UAV had located, and Daniel spent the entire next day recording, making rubbings and trying to translate pieces of the writing that they had rarely seen before. It was Furling, and there was quite a bit of text on the walls that hadn't crumbled. Sam took a few soil and plant samples, but mostly she and Teal'c just assisted Daniel or kept watch while he worked.  
  
They stayed at the same campsite that night, then were up bright and early in the morning packing up for the hike back to the gate. Daniel had to smile as the day wore on and Sam picked up the pace as they got closer to gate. One would think that she was anxious to get home. He found Teal'c returning his grin and knew he was just as excited as Daniel was to observe the interplay of their friends on their return.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
They weren't disappointed. It wasn't anything blatant, but they were watching for it and so didn't miss the look that passed between O'Neill and Carter when he greeted them at the base of the ramp.  
  
"Welcome back Campers!" Jack enthused slapping a hand on Daniel's back. "I'm sure you have a million exciting and enlightening discoveries to share, but for now any highlights? The rest can wait until the debrief at 09:00 tomorrow," he ordered.  
  
"Definitely Furling," Sam summarized.  
  
"Well that is kind of exciting," Jack replied. "Hit the showers and the infirmary. Oh, and Carter, I need you to stop by my office when you are all done there," he added nonchalantly.  
  
Still as Sam went to the infirmary so the guys could have the showers first Daniel couldn't help commenting as soon as she was out of earshot.  
  
"Those two are so hiding something!"


	6. Leaving your Exlife behind

Title: "The Ex Factor"  
  
Author: Jackie W.  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
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Sam knocked on General O'Neill's door exactly forty-five minutes later having set a land speed record for post mission exam and shower. He was on the phone when she entered so she had to sit and patiently wait. After a minute she found herself taking apart a pen that was on his desk. When he hung up she looked up to see him regarding her with amusement.  
  
"Nice to see you've picked up a few of my bad habits over the years," he teased, causing her to blush.  
  
As she hastily put the pen back together and set it in it's holder, she commented, "I got your note."  
  
"And?" he asked.  
  
Her smile lit up the room. "There were more than enough trees, I made it back safe and sound and I love you, too," she told him, and was rewarded with an answering grin from Jack. "Please tell me you have good news," she begged. He got right to the point. "I spent the day in Washington yesterday talking to Hammond, the Joint Chiefs and even President Hayes himself," he told her.  
  
Now her eyes were wide and anxious. "You promised you wouldn't do anything rash!" she exclaimed.  
  
"Calm down, I didn't. I had called Hammond Sunday asking for his advice. Turns out once they knew I might be interested they had a proposition for me," he explained. "I told them I needed to think it over but only because I had promised you I wouldn't do anything without talking to you first. I think this is the perfect solution and I had trouble stopping myself from telling them 'yes' on the spot."  
  
Sam eyes were now full of hope. "So what's this magical solution?"  
  
"Ol' Henry is still under tremendous pressure to transfer control of the SGC over to a non-military governing agency. To that end they have begun to form an oversight committee made up of people with a wide range of skills, both military, scientific and political for overseeing treaties with allies. The one thing they were lacking was member of this committee that could actually command this facility. They want someone with military experience that is no longer in the military. They were looking for a retired General, but none of them met their criteria. Quite frankly most were too old. So when I indicated I might be willing to retire, well they were quite excited," he told her, sitting back in his chair with a grin as he watched her wrap her incredible brain around what he had just told her.  
  
"So, if you don't retire, they are going to replace you with someone non-military, but if you retire, you get to stay?" she finally demanded incredulously.  
  
"That about sums it up," he nodded, now grinning like an idiot.  
  
Sam felt excitement welling up in her. This was incredible. Short of the war with Goa'uld being over this was the best outcome she could imagine. Then another thought had her crashing down to reality again.  
  
"You'd still be my boss," she pointed out.  
  
"Sort of, but only as it applies to sending SG1 out on missions. I couldn't do any of your military reviews. That will be up to the most senior ranking active officer on base. Right now that's Reynolds, although they might assign someone who doesn't go off-world to be my 'military' 2IC. Basically I think the plan is a good one. It gives the critics what they want without actually disrupting the running of our operations here," he commented. "So what should I tell them? Am I putting in for retirement and becoming a civilian?"  
  
Sam looked up at him with a grin that now matched his. "Hell yes," she told him.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
Epilogue  
  
General Jack O'Neill (retired) Looked up from the grill where he was flipping burgers to view the group around him. Teal'c, Daniel, Cassie and Sam were all lounging in deck chairs chatting happily. Sam caught his eye for a moment and winked. He smiled in return and turned his attention back to the burgers that were just about done. Life in the seven months since he'd retired had been pretty good he reflected. Although the damn snake-heads were still out there threatening the galaxy, his little corner of the universe had improved immensely. As he put the burgers on a platter, Sam suddenly appeared at his elbow to take the meat from him so he could turn off the grill and he caught the sparkle of the diamond that graced her left hand. It had taken him two months to convince her to move in with him, and another two to get up the nerve to propose. Two months after that she'd become his wife.  
  
As amazing as that whole adventure had been it was nothing compared to the surprise she'd given him two weeks ago when she'd come to him and told him she was applying for the head of research position the new oversight committee wanted to create. It was also a civilian position, reporting directly to the committee, and he had argued with her about her resigning her commission. He couldn't imagine why she would want to give up going off-world, especially since she had worked so hard to get to the point where she'd gotten command of SG1.  
  
Of course then she'd explained, and his feet hadn't touched the ground since. Today they had told their 'family' the good news.  
  
Sam was pregnant.

And ex-General O'Neill and ex-Colonel Carter couldn't have been happier.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
The end


End file.
